Chapter 7: A Couple Sons Away
Chad video chatted with me again that day. We sat by our computers speaking whatever was on our minds until Silvia told me that I needed to get some fresh air and forced us to cease our chat.
Silvia forced me into a cab along with Skylar to take us to a nearby park. She began going on about how we were siblings and that it was about time that we got to know each other. The whole time, Skylar simply texted a friend on his cell phone. It was pretty apparent to me that he was doing whatever he could to ignore his mother, but Silvia seemed completely oblivious.
When we arrived at the park, Skylar and I walked over to the swing set together to make it look like we were actually hanging out. I sat on one and allowed my body to sway back and forth while he simply sat in the sand near another, still talking to someone through a text message.
"So, what do you do for fun?" I asked him, hoping to start up a conversation.
Skylar shrugged, glancing around the park in a desperate attempt to ignore me while he awaited his friend's response. His behavior was completely unlike the reaction I had seen when I had first walked into Silvia's condo, and I wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that he had suddenly decided that he didn't like me.
"Am I gonna get a chance to meet your friend?" I asked, hoping to capture his attention and succeeding.
He practically glared at me for a moment before turning his head away and mumbling, "God, I hope not."
My attempts basically ended there, finding no other ways to draw his attention from his cell phone buddy. I wasn't sure why it bothered me that he didn't care to talk to me, but it really did. I understood that he didn't really see me as a sister since I didn't think I would ever been able to see him as my brother, but I had still hoped that he would have been at least a little interested in getting to know his new house guest. Clearly, I had been terribly mistaken.
I found myself sitting silently, watching the boy as he continued to find anything to draw his attention away from me. "So, why do you hate me?" I asked, not even realizing what I was going to say until it slipped out of my lips.
Skylar looked at me for a moment before turning back to his phone. "Trust me, if I hated you, you wouldn't be here anymore."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked. Strange pictures of torture instruments streaming from his open closet door involuntarily popping into my head.
He stood up and glared at me. "It just so happens that my mom actually cares what I think."
Oh. "Jealous are we?" I asked, watching as his defenses fell for a moment before he replaced them. "And it just so happens that I already have a mom, and I'm not interested in taking yours."
Skylar sat down again, mumbling "Good," while opening his phone to check his new message.
I found myself surrounded by silence again. Or, at least, it felt like I was surrounded by silence. Off in the distance, I could make out the sounds of two kids running through the playground area, screaming and laughing. I wondered if Skylar, this seemingly mature kid, ever did things like that with his friends. Everything he did seemed to be completely controlled, as if he were in the military and was afraid of stepping out of line. I wondered if this had something to do with Jay.
"So, what do you have against your mom's boyfriend?" I asked.
Skylar stiffened, took a deap breath, and pretended like nothing had happened. "What makes you think I have anything against him?" he asked. "He seems to make her pretty happy." Although his voice stayed leveled, it was pretty clear to me that he was lying through his teeth. Of course, I could tell that this wasn't going to be the best way to get answers out of him, so I let the conversation drop. If he wanted to talk to anybody about this, it definately wasn't his long lost sister.
Silvia took us out to lunch afterward. She insisted that I choose an appetizer, a meal, and a dessert, saying that it was the only way she would learn what I like to eat. I could practically feel myself gain thirty pounds as I tried to force the last of the food down my throat. The whole time, Skylar stared at me with envy plain on his face.
When we returned to Silvia's condo, Jay sat in the living room watching a football game. Skylar retreated to his room, hoping to find some refuge before Silvia forced him back onto the couch so I could go to sleep.
"Have fun?" Jay asked, not even half-interested in the way Silvia responded as his mind was completely obsorbed by the constantly changing scoreboard.
"I think we had a good time. Didn't we Sonny?" Silvia asked, catching me off guard.
I nodded my head, torn between my want to leave the room and my fear of being rude.
"Hopefully, tomorrow, we can all do something together. Right Jay?" Silvia asked.
"Whatever you say," Jay replied, still staring at the screen.
Silvia, clearly giving up hope of a conversation, headed for her bedroom, motioning for me to follow. I walked behind her, wondering why she wanted me to come with her. If she planned to show me an old photo album, I was completely abandoning the whole idea.
Silvia placed her purse on a dresser near the entrance of her bedroom and sighed. "I know that Skylar can be very difficult to get along with, but I appreciate your attempt. He doesn't have a lot of friends, and I think he wants to keep it that way," she replied. "I've never met a more anti-social person in my life."
I couldn't believe that Silvia actually felt that way about her own son, but I managed to nod, keeping my opinion to myself.
"He can also be incredibly selfish and stubborn, so please don't take offense if he becomes inexcusably rude to you. It's nothing personal. He's horrible to just about everybody," Silvia continued, emptying the contents from her purse.
"How can you say that about your son?" I asked, unable to contain the outburst. After seeing how terrified Skylar seemed to be of Jay, I didn't want to believe that Silvia allowed Jay to hurt her son and didn't even care what happened to him.
Silvia turned to look at me, her face showing obvious embarassment. "I'm sorry if I sound harsh. I don't mean it that way," Silvia said, her facial expression neutral once more as she returned to the task at hand. "I love Skylar, I really do. Of course, that doesn't change the fact that sometimes I wish he would have a better attitude about things. There are some things that you just need to accept and move on, and I'm afraid he'll never be able to do just that."
I wasn't sure what she was trying to hide behind those words, but it was pretty clear that there was something else hidden underneath all of that. Instead, I simply said, "I think he's jealous of all the time you're spending on me. I think he feels left out."
"Oh, that's ridiculous," Silvia said, waving off the idea with a wave of her hand. "He knows I love him. I'm sure he's just a little uncomfortable with having somebody new around."
As much as I wanted to push the subject, and anything to get Skylar to stop hating me and Silvia to leave me alone was definately an awe inspiring idea, I let the subject drop. As unhealthy as it was, I knew that Silvia was trying to convince herself that it wasn't true. Silvia was one of those people that truly believed if they said something didn't exist, than it wouldn't exist. I didn't think it was right, but I didn't want to interrupt her blissful ignorance and make her mad at me as well. I figured it would be easier to let her do what she wanted. After all, I would be leaving soon. It was just a couple suns away.
I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but now that school is starting I'm affraid I'll only be able to update on the weekends. (I'll try to get some rare weekday updates in, but those probably won't happen often.) Anyway, thank you everyone who reviewed and keep up the good work. :D As for those of you who haven't, please just leave a simple Nice Job or This Sucks so I can have an idea of what you think. Pretty please with sugar on top? I'll be your best friend. :D Anyway, please review and the next chapter should be up within the next 7 days.